Has the audience been trained to expect disappointment, to have minimal attention spans, by the hype-driven (and thus continually disappointing) game industry? Have the mechanics of games themselves engineered a culture that demands logically-placed, tiered rewards interspersed with occasional, unpredictable conflict?

Has the audience developed its resentful mob mentality by being told what they do and don't want by a slate of envious, immature game journalists whose largest qualification is that they are more obsessive enthusiasts than those for whom they write?

Journalists and developers will say that they've become whatever it is they've become because of turning backbends to please an unpleasable audience; the audience can just as easily say they've been made what they are by the media they consume.

Vicious cycle, no? In the general gaming marketplace that's extremely competitive, hype building is the name of the game — and is often inherently at odds with what we might call "responsible journalism." The big question that none of us can answer is how to get out of the cycle.

Hot Headlines And Hype Cycles — Who's Responsible? [GameSetWatch]

Hopefully, we'll get to play it at E3. Talons crossed!

Dragon Age [BioWare - thanks, Mystery Tipster!]

The site has now transitioned to a flash movie introducing the various characters in the game. FYI, the North American Chrono Trigger DS site still has the clock ticking, but no countdown yet.

Chrono Trigger [Square Enix]

I think the penguin stands for hope!

Big-ish, eh? We know it's not the only big-ish thing happening next week, as we expect a respectable number of pre-E3 announcements throughout the week, but we have to wonder what Fable 2 secrets await us. Perhaps we'll see that ballyhooed acorn or learn more about in-game pregnancy! Who wants to make a guess? There's a no-prize in it for you!

Lost My Teeth! [Fable 2 Development]

How will it correlate to Mass Effect, the original? There's a lot of really exciting answers to that question. I think that people are going to be blown away.

I've learned some of the things. I don't mean to tease people. The teams are just so brilliant and the story writing is so good that straight out from the beginning of Mass Effect 2, people are going to be in awe...I will tell you that things you did and people you interacted with in Mass Effect... you may very well meet up with them again, whether it be the main character or other characters.

Mass Effect 2 will blow people away [VideoGamer][image]

...I was shown a trailer for a game not due out till 2009 but was sworn to absolute secrecy. Apparently, Sony just wanted to give a glimpse of what the console will be capable of.

I don't mean to be a tease - all I can say is that I was left speechless. If the footage I was shown truly is "in game", as told to me by the Sony PR people, then we could be on the brink of a step change in what games consoles are capable of in terms of story-telling and immersion.

Any guesses on the title? My guess is that Sony pulled a nasty prank and he just saw the tank game.

PlayStation bounces back [BBC via NextGen] [image]

Introduced in 2004, the Nintendo DS (for Dual Screen or Devil Screen), this game machine has sold some 700 million or so units. That's an epidemic. It's undeniable that it has been a "success" for its Japanese manufacturer, Nintendo (makers of Donkey Kong aka Monkey Donkey, a game in which a monkey kidnaps a young girl to satisfy his bestial desires). It's also been a tremendous success for pedophiles everywhere.

In retrospect, I would have bought my DS even sooner had it actually stood for Devil Screen, and I was in line the day before the first model came out. The writer seems to have a lot of repressed sexual feelings stirring in their loins, as evidenced by the 'satisfy his bestial desires' bit.

The article then goes on to present a completely made up story as a matter of fact.

I have been notified by one parent whose child was solicited to "come to the mall and we can go shopping and do other fun stuff. Don't tell your mom because she might spoil our fun. Parents are such a drag. LOL." Fortunately her parent was watching Susie (a pseudonym) that day, as all parents should, and reacted the way any good, loving, responsible parent would. She deftly ripped the offending device out of her hands, sent the reply "stay away from my baby, you psycho" and triumphantly snapped the unit in half. Nintendo TP (two pieces). It's garbage now.

Perhaps the writer is trying to create a fictional role model for parents to look up to. After all, Betty Crocker wasn't real but she is the champion of baked goods that come in boxes and tubs of frosting, so I suppose Susie could be the champion of symbolically tearing child molesters in half to keep them away from her baby, you psycho.

To round out the article, the writer dredges up the old PlayStation Pornable video from ages past, in which the mainstream media warns us that there are dirty pictures on the internet, no matter how small the screen is. As icing on the cake, they throw in a video of JT talking about Grand Theft Auto.

With supporters like these it is no wonder than Sam Brownback is pulling out of the running for Republican presidential candidate. Either there are too many sensible people who would never support him in a million years just to avoid association with these idiots, or the man realized that being a presidential candidate representing people like this would only encourage them.

Early Christmas Alert: Nintendo DS [Blogs 4 Brownback via Game Politics]

Brian Dunn, also of Capcom, later extended the tease, writing "We have our Gamer's Day event in London next Wednesday (10/17), but there will be announcements and things starting to come up on Monday (10/15) and continuing all week." Dunn also added, somewhat conspicuously, to the comments thread "everyone at Capcom knows all the fans are extremely anxious for a NEW SF game, believe me. That's about all I can say about that..."

Today, the official Capcom blog updated with a very cryptic posting titled "Prepare Yourself" with the following message:

??? ???? ????????????? ???? ??? ????????? ? ????? ? ??????.

??????? ???????? ??? ? ?????!

And, no, that's not a product of shitty international character support on your Windows box, it's just a series of question marks.

Do we really think Street Fighter IV is coming, with an announcement next week? No. Our hearts have been broken by too many rumors, hype threads and machine translated Capcom teaser sites. We can't survive another non-announcement like that.

I wouldn't be surprised if one of those announcements was the revelation that Capcom's Monster Hunter 3 was Wii bound, broken at the Nintendo media conference last night. However, we wait. And we watch. And maybe we'll just pray a little bit that Street Fighter IV is a reality. And maybe I'll buy a lottery ticket this week.

Flying Dictators and their Clones (New Art Inside!!!!) [Capcom Blog]

Bob McKenzie, Senior Vice President of Merchandising for GameStop Corp commented that, "With consumer demand for Halo 3 and related products, we expect it to be the biggest video game title generator in GameStop's history."

Xbox 360 Exclusive "Halo 3" Registers Biggest Day in US Entertainment History with $170 Million in Sales

Microsoft today announced that the Xbox 360 exclusive game "Halo 3" has officially become the biggest entertainment launch in history, garnering an estimated $170 million in sales in the United States alone in the first 24 hours. The Xbox 360 title beat previous records set by blockbuster theatrical releases like "Spider-man 3" and novels such as "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

"Halo 3" is the conclusion to the epic trilogy and picks up where "Halo 2" left off, answering questions around the fates of the beloved protagonist Master Chief and his artificial intelligence sidekick Cortana as they struggle to save humankind from destruction at the hands of the alien coalition known as the Covenant. In addition to the rich storyline, "Halo 3" continues the franchise's grand tradition of delivering innovative online multiplayer experiences via Xbox LIVE, the world's largest social network on TV.

"Halo 3 has become a pop-culture phenomenon," said Shane Kim, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios. "Not only is "Halo 3" setting sales records, it's also redefining entertainment.

Within the first 20 hours alone, we've seen more than a million Xbox LIVE members come online to play Halo 3 - that makes September 25 the most active Xbox LIVE gaming day in history."

Retailers have also expressed their excitement about the launch of "Halo 3."

Bob McKenzie, Senior Vice President of Merchandising for GameStop Corp commented that, "With consumer demand for Halo 3 and related products, we expect it to be the biggest video game title generator in GameStop's history."

"The initial demand we've seen for 'Halo 3' has been astounding, and the game is on track to become the number one gaming title of all time. 'Halo 3' is a genuine entertainment phenomenon and our customers have responded very enthusiastically to the release," said Jill Hamburger, vice president of movies and games at Best Buy.

Developed by Bungie Studios, the "Halo" franchise is exclusive to the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system and optimized for the Xbox LIVE® online entertainment network. The more than 7 million Xbox LIVE users will get a continually evolving gaming experience with "Halo 3." Its online multiplayer and cooperative gameplay for Xbox LIVE Gold users, the much-talked-about Saved Films feature that enables players to capture and save their favorite moments on their hard drives, and Forge, an innovative map editor that enables infinite customization options are just some of the new features to experience.

More than 10,000 retailers hosted Midnight Madness events to celebrate the launch of this third installment in the billion-dollar franchise. In New York, Seattle, Miami and Los Angeles, Microsoft and retail partners hosted marquee launch events that featured contests and appearances by local celebrities and professional athletes who are fanatical about the "Halo" franchise, including Ludacris and Zac Efron and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates.

More than 1.7 million copies of "Halo 3" were preordered in the United States before a single store opened its doors at midnight, Sept. 25, making this the fasting pre-selling game in history, surpassing the previous record-setting pre-sales of "Halo 2." Well beyond just a U.S. phenomenon, the launch of "Halo 3" was a worldwide celebration that released in 37 countries and available in 17 languages.

After reading Gamertag Radio forum poster Anjo Banjo's thoughts on the subject, I realized that other people felt the same way. Knowing full well that she would probably be lynched for her feelings on the subject, she posted an article about her experiences with the Halo 3 marketing campaign and how "next time an (retail) employee asks me about preordering halo 3, I might just end up in jail. Cause I am honestly sick of this." Now, obviously these people are just doing jobs, but I feel Anjo Banjo's pain. It seems like one can't turn around without seeing Master Chief's helmeted head staring at you and the Kotaku mail room is filled to capacity with Halo tips of every size and shape.

So, my question to you is this. Has the Halo 3 hype machine gone too far and would the over marketing of a game, whatever it may be, keep you from purchasing it?

Movie-based games generally lean towards the miss side of hit or miss, but Cameron shows great faith in the Ubisoft team.

I told the Ubisoft team I wanted them to be free to do their very best work, and not think of this as a movie-based game. They responded with a fully realized presentation which captured the soul of the world and the characters, while promising to be a knockout game on its own terms. Their passion inspired my confidence that they are going to do something transcendental."

The movie and corresponding game are both set for May of 2009, when James Cameron's "Avatar" will completely kick your very soul right in the nuts.

Ubisoft And 20th Century Fox Team Up For Video Game Based On James Cameron's "Avatar"

London, United Kingdom - 24 July 2007 - Today, Ubisoft, one of the world's largest video game publishers, announced that it will develop and publish the video game based on Twentieth Century Fox's "Avatar," the upcoming feature film written and directed by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker James Cameron, whose previous films include "Titanic," "True Lies," "The Abyss," "Aliens," "The Terminator" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day."

"Avatar" is the story of an ex-Marine who finds himself thrust into hostilities on an alien planet filled with exotic life forms. As an Avatar, a human mind in an alien body, he finds himself torn between two worlds, in a desperate fight for his own survival and that of the indigenous people. More than ten years in the making, Avatar marks Cameron's return to feature directing since helming 1997's Titanic, the highest grossing film of all time and winner of eleven Oscars® including Best Picture. The "Avatar" cast includes Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, and Sigourney Weaver. Academy Award-winning visual effects house, WETA Digital, renowned for its work in "The Lord of the Rings" Trilogy and "King Kong," will incorporate new intuitive CGI technologies to transform the environments and characters into photorealistic 3D imagery that will transport the audience into the alien world rich with imaginative vistas, creatures and characters.

"Ubisoft is excited to partner with 20th Century Fox and James Cameron on this important project. 'Avatar's' rich scenario, onscreen action and special effects will provide a wealth of inspiration to create a unique interactive experience," said Yves Guillemot, chief executive officer of Ubisoft. "True to their reputation, Ubisoft's creative teams are looking forward to recreating Cameron's high definition 3D environment in a compelling game for film and game fans."

James Cameron commented: "For the movie 'Avatar' we are creating a world rich in character, detail, conflict and cultural depth. It has the raw material for a game that the more demanding gamers of today will want to get their hands on - one that is rich in visuals and ideas, and challenging in play. I told the Ubisoft team I wanted them to be free to do their very best work, and not think of this as a movie-based game. They responded with a fully realized presentation which captured the soul of the world and the characters, while promising to be a knockout game on its own terms. Their passion inspired my confidence that they are going to do something transcendental."

Elie Dekel, Executive Vice President of Fox Licensing and Merchandising added: "James Cameron's "Avatar" will re-define the movie-going experience forever. Cameron's vision and innovative approach to film-making demand that we align this breakthrough project with the most talented and creative partners in the world. As we embark on the incredible journey that is "Avatar," we are thrilled to be collaborating with Ubisoft on the development of the video game. After an extensive review, it became clear the talented Ubisoft team is uniquely able to bring Cameron's vision into the interactive realm."

The game is expected to release in conjunction with the movie's planned opening in May 2009.

What will it be? Megaton-caliber next-gen franchise reveal or overblown announcement that will ultimately lead to bitterness? Try to decipher this post and judge for yourself!

Amazing Things To Happen On April 28th:

1758 - James Monroe, 5th President of the United States is born.
1788 - Maryland becomes the seventh state to ratify the Constitution of the United States.
1932 - A vaccine for yellow fever is announced for use on humans.

(Then nothing really happened for a long time.... but now....)

2007 - What goes down this April 28th is equal to, if not surpasses, the magnitude of any of those.

Who's ready?!

Better than Maryland ratifying the Constitution? We'll just see about that! Michael McWhertor

IW Update 4/20/07 [Infinity Ward via Gaming Nexus]

In his weekly update, Bungie's Frankie says some big things are coming this week. You've got the two new Halo 2 multiplayer maps, Desolation and Tombstone, for $4 hitting next week. Also, there will be a new auto-update for the game, new playlists and they will be resetting all rankings.

Frankie wraps up his update by talking about the new audio for Halo 3 and then closes with some very cryptic statements about "big news."

So yeah. Big changes coming. Big changes and big news. Next week is going to be significant. Until then, enjoy this potted history of Mister Chief's evolution.

It's hard to tell if Frankie is all excited about the Halo 2 maps, the update, the ranking reset, the audio or perhaps something he didn't mention. I guess we'll find out next week when it turns out the "big news" is a picture of another weapon. Brian Crecente

Bungie Weekly Update [Bungie]

Possibly, as GameDaily's James Brightman reminds Moledina of the following:

BIZ: You told me at D.I.C.E. that on March 7, I'd be "very happy" that I'm a PlayStation 3 owner. What revelations will Phil Harrison have for us during his keynote that will make us go gaga for PS3? Care to give us some hints?

JM: Haha! Not to be coy but you'll just have to come to his talk James. All I can say is that I stand behind my comment regarding your future emotional state.

Poor, Phil! Now he has to do something spectacular or we'll unfairly rake him and the entire Sony corporation over the coals. As a PLAYSTATION 3 owner, I'm fascinated.

The Kotaku crew will be in attendance for GDC in San Francisco next week and I'm bringing an emergency morphine drip just in case Harrison fails to elicit a positive reaction with his speech. Michael McWhertor

Jamil Moledina Talks GDC 2007 [GameDaily.BIZ]

Microsoft VP Peter Moore is extremely confident about Windows Vista's gaming functionality, if the first line in the open letter to the press he issued on the subject is any indicator.

Mark your calendars: January 30th 2007 will be the most significant day in gaming for the next several years.

The rest of the letter goes on to detail all the salient points regarding the new operating system, from parental controls to the Games for Windows brand. Pretty much your standard marketing spiel about blurring the line between consoles and PCs by adding controls.

As I've mentioned in the past, new operating systems from Microsoft terrify me, so no amount of Moore cheerleading is going to sway me here. The most significant day in gaming for years to come? We shall see. Michael Fahey

Microsoft Hypes Up Windows Vista [Team Xbox]

Devoted reader Jonathan "I'm not the lead singer of Korn" Davis risked life and limb to get us this shot. Three of the hardest of the hardcore (or least sane of the hardcore, you decide) already have their mushy butts in line at a Burbank, California Best Buy, prepared to be the first through the doors when the PlayStation 3 goes on sale next Friday. Nine days from now. Looks like the rest of you can skip this location.

Still, if you're going to be in line for over nine days, you had better have the right supplies. Plastic penguin? Check. Lawn chairs? Yup. Toilets? Those potted plants will do.

The dream of scoring a PS3 at retail seems less and less like reality as the days pass. Thanks again, Jonathan. Michael McWhertor

Look, we don't know either! The official Guitar Hero II Myspace page, who we'll have to assume is run by Kyle Rechsteiner, publishing operations do-gooder for Red Octane, has an updated blog entry with the above logo and the following cryptic message.

Many of us have been in the laboratory here hard at work on something that I will officially announce within the next couple weeks. I realize that things have been a little slow around here as of late (aside from some very interesting heated music discussions in comment form) so I would like to present you with this teaser of things to come. Stay tuned, more to follow...

Gah! What could it be? Guitar Hero Online User League? Guitar Hero Obese Unicorn Liberation?! It's all so exciting!

Your best suggestions in the comments are more than welcome. Michael McWhertor

Ghoul's night out? [Warning: MySpace]

So what is it? In brief, Eon8 is a website. Eon8.com, .net, .org all show the same thing (or they would, if I could access them right now). It's spooky in that minimalist, countdown-to-doom sort of way, and in fact includes a timer counting down to...what? A Digg commentor said it was launching a new brand of gum, and he's probably right.

There's also a world map with menacing red dots thrown willy-nilly all over it, much like the delicate play of acne eruptions graces the aquiline face of Florian's Lesser Wife.

More hooplah and folderol after yon jump, knave. UPDATE also after jump!

Popular theories include: viral marketing meme for a video game or something related; flat-out hoax; scientologists (spawned by references to "auditing" and "Theta9"); nuclear strike; cyberterrorism; and the end of the world, respectively.

We find out what all this means in a few hours. Or maybe we get another counter, ilovebees-style.

Until then, I attempted to make contact with an AIM address that may or may not have anything to do with the website. When people are so accursedly bored that they will actually pretend to be Jhonen Vasquez on their GreatestJournal, I am quick to dismiss anyone claiming to be anyone with any affiliation. As far as I'm concerned, you could all be brains in buckets on Alpha Centauri.

The account is Eon8Countdown, and he answered every query with spy-movie villain fluffery such as "Everything will be ready in time." I went at him as a Kotakuite and his response was that he didn't like bloggers. But I imagine he would be evasive no matter who he was talking to. Give him a shot, the account is public as of posting. E-mail anything interesting to me, or the tips line.

As usual, the response to the site is far more entertaining than the site itself, or anything it could possibly be advertising. Thanks for the tip, Ryan! ELIZA GAUGER

UPDATE!!! Reader Nick just wrote in with a chatlog in which the AIM account finally gets fed up and admits to being a fake. When asked point-blank, for the second time, whether he was or was not associated with Eon8, AIm user Eon8Countdown bails: "Not. Made this yesterday when I was teh bored."

So there you have it. Teh boredom assaults us all. Still, this dude's schtick is a little better than pretending to be Jhonen Vasquez.

Eon8Countdown then IMed me seperately: "[..] thanks to your article (I imagine) a load more people IMed me." I told him I sent my flying monkeys to make him break under the strain. He replied, "I saw. I guess you can say it worked. When I was talking to you I was carefully regulating myself. Making sure I didn't do anything stupid, but meh, now, I was sorta off it. So, instead of screwing myself over on accident, I just IMed everyone with: [20:23] Eon8Countdown: Alright. Yawn. I'm not connected to Eon8. Faretheewell!"

End of update. One mystery solved, thanks to the Kotaku Constabulary and their faithful Scouts! You had a good run, Eon8Countdown.

Here's some nice gummy linkage:

Eon8.com (it's a little shaky right now due to Digg Effect)

YTMND post linking the game Uplink to the Eon8 thing

Collected Eon8 Stuff on Digg

Edge of Nowhere thread

Unfiction Thread (Unfiction is all about this sort of alternate-reality stuff)

PHASE 8 - The Waxing Quintile (Only link to something else called Eon8 that I could find.)

Sorry Hype, but I think you're just that.

Hype: The Ultimate Gaming Community [Official (and annoying) site]